


Keep Afloat

by JustSomeoneWhoLikesToWrite



Series: Healing [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alcohol Withdrawal, Angst, Character Study, Clover cares, Clover is super obvious in his flirting, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Flirting, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Qrow and Clover are adults, Qrow is doing better but it's a hard journey, So they act like adults, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, qrow has issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 16:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21664567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustSomeoneWhoLikesToWrite/pseuds/JustSomeoneWhoLikesToWrite
Summary: Qrow doesn’t know what Clover sees in him.Or a.k.a Qrow hates himself a little(a lot) and Clover tries to get him to like himself as much as he does.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen & Clover Ebi, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Healing [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567423
Comments: 22
Kudos: 422





	Keep Afloat

Qrow is not stupid.

Wouldn’t have lived this long to be. He has seen horrors from dark corners and even darker minds, knows that behind every tough adversary that there is an even tougher one around the corner. Suffered enough to know it gets worse before it gets better.

He _has_ to be smart if he wants to make it by the skin of his teeth, stuck in a constant battle with a semblance that presses on him like deadweight, threatening to pull him under and drown him.

(He tries not to think of lies and secrets and betrayals, of being so blindsided that it would’ve been laughable if it wasn’t so gut-wrenching. Of feeling so hopeful and naive in his trust, only to have it blow up in his face like everything else in his life.

Because that’s how it is, isn’t it? Ha ha look at Qrow everyone! Put on the spotlight and set the stage because the joke is always on him.)

So, he knows what Clover is implying with his cocked eyebrows and handsome smirk and silky words. Knows what he’s doing when he gazes into Qrow’s eyes with his legs wide and splayed, slowly sliding a card over with a smile and not lifting his hand until Qrow takes it, the tips of their fingers lightly brushing against each other.

Qrow _knows_ all that but goddammit, it still _works_.

(He still feels the ache from how his heart had stuttered in his chest when Clover had denied him his self-pity, how he insisted on Qrow taking the compliment. Remembers how the back of his neck had gotten hot from how Clover had looked at him, all lowered eyelids and burning gaze when he said Qrow didn’t know the effect he had on his kids.

The way Clover had tilted his head and smirked slow like he was implying that _Qrow_ didn’t know the effect he had on people in general, the effect he had on _Clover_ himself. Eyebrows raised like it should’ve been obvious.)

And, on most days it’s flattering, it really is. It has been a long while since he has felt this way, since someone has shown their genuine interest in him. It... makes him feel light, like the world isn’t pressing down on his shoulders anymore.

(Only god knows what the hell Clover sees in him, what he sees in someone as broken and as fucked up as him.)

But, on nights like this one, where he’s itching for a drink he shouldn’t have, shaking and clammy as he paces inside the academy’s empty rec room, it sets him on edge. Makes him wonder if Jimmy set this up for him, trying to reign in the ol’ wild card that Qrow was. Saw how pitiful and touch-starved he was and sent Clover his way, trying to help and intervene in that pushy way that Jimmy always thought was right.

“_Fuck_,” Qrow curses, wiping down his face, “Shouldn’t have come here.”

And he really shouldn’t have, not in this rec room that holds a bar, lined with rows and rows of temptation. He doesn’t know why he’s torturing himself like this, not when each angry throb of his head brings him closer and closer to the bar. Until he’s so close that he can see his reflection in the bottles, his image as unclear and warped as he feels.

“Don’t do this to yourself,” he mumbles, even though he trails trembling fingers down the neck of a decanter of whiskey, “Think of the kids, they don’t need you holding them back.”

And so, he desperately holds on to that thought, holds on to the memory of how he felt when he let them down in that abandoned farm, how much it hurt to see Ruby look up at him with disappointment and anger. How much the acid in her tone burned when she told him she didn’t care what he thought, the beautiful and terrifying thing that was his niece growing up.

The reality that she would go her own way, with or without him.

Qrow breathes out a shaky sigh, squeezes his eyes shut at the wave of nausea that hits him. Lets out a laugh that sounds too much like a sob.

“Qrow?”

He whirls around at the voice, spinning around so violently that he ends up banging his elbow into the bar’s counter. He curses, hunching forward as he cradles his arm. When he looks up, he sees Clover quickly walking towards him with a concerned look on his face.

(And it’s just Qrow’s luck to see him now of all times, right?)

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Clover says, stepping close to him to lay a hand on his arm and his shoulder, eyebrows pinched, “I didn’t mean to startle you like that. Are you alright?”

Qrow just shrugs, a modest smile twisting his lips. Tries not to shiver from the way Clover’s hands slowly drag down his arms when he steps out of his grip.

“Ahh, I’m fine,” Qrow says, twirling his hand around in a careless circle, “I’m made from tough stuff.”

He lets out a chuckle and while Clover looks less anxious, he doesn’t exactly smile with him.

“That may be true,” Clover starts, looking into his eyes with that gentle yet stern look that leaves Qrow a little breathless, “But, that doesn’t mean you have to downplay how hurt you are, whether the injury is small or not.”

Qrow rubs the back of his neck, can feel the tip of his ears getting hot.

“What are you doing here anyway?” he says, changing the subject and from the knowing look on Clover’s face, he wasn’t exactly subtle, “Thought you Ace Ops would be asleep by now, what with having to wake up at the ass crack of dawn.”

There’s a pause where Clover just looks at Qrow, like he’s weighing his options, before he physically relaxes, visibly dropping the issue for now. His lips slowly turn up in a small smile.

“I _was_ going to ask you the same thing,” Clover starts, his tone light and teasing, resting a hand on his hip as he cocks it, “But, since I _scared_ you so bad, I guess I’ll tell you first.”

That startles a laugh out of Qrow, who raises both hands.

“Hey hey,” he says, one eyebrow raised as he points at Clover, “I didn’t say all _that_.”

“You didn’t,” Clover agrees, briefly patting Qrow’s shoulder as he walks past him, softly chuckling, “But I can read between the lines.”

Clover stops to give him a wink and _oh_, the wave of heat that goes through Qrow at that. He watches as Clover turns and makes his way to a pool table at the center of the room, a little tongue-tied. He swallows against a dry throat.

“I come here when I want to clear my mind,” Clover says, tone gentle and a little wistful as he picks up a cue stick, starts chalking the end of it, “I find that the precision needed in pool forces me to be in the now, doesn’t let my thoughts stray out of the task at hand.”

He rests the stick on the side of the table and begins setting up the rack, an easy motion to it like he’s done it a million times over.

(And Qrow wonders how much Clover comes down here, when his head is too messy to think. He seems like an easygoing guy, but Qrow knows more than anyone else that everybody carries their own demons.)

“Would you like to play, Qrow?” Clover asks, shaking the rack before resting his hip against the table, his arms crossed comfortably, “I could use the company.”

“Thought you came here to clear your mind. I don’t think you can do that with another person around,” Qrow counters, running a hand through his hair as he looks away, trying not to stare at how _good_ Clover looks leaning like that, “And I’ve already played cards against you so I know where this is going, lucky charm.”

“That’s not exactly an answer, now is it?” Clover challenges, but his voice is amicable and his posture relaxed, smiling as he gestures with his hand, “I asked you if you _wanted_ to play, not what you think you _should_ do.“

And there he goes again, making Qrow feel off-balance, like his tongue is too heavy to form words. Clover gives him this gentle look, like he _knows_ how much Qrow needs this, to be away from his buzzing thoughts and too dry throat.

(He wonders if it’s because he looks like shit, hair sweat-matted and skin pale, heavy bags under his eyes. He wonders if it’s because it’s obvious how much of a mess he is.

But, a small part of him wonders too if it’s because Clover is just that perspective, if he’s already figured Qrow out in the short amount of time they’ve known each other.)

“C’mon,” Clover softly pushes, slightly tilting his head, “I think it’ll do us both good.”

Qrow lets out a sigh, shuffles his feet. Thinks about being alone with his twisted stomach and throbbing head, staring up at a ceiling and wondering when it will end.

“Okay okay,” he finally says, rolling his shoulders as he walks up to the pool table, “But don’t complain when I start winnin’.”

The way Clover’s eyes crinkle at the corners says much more than his laugh does.

“Wouldn’t think of it,” Clover replies, not breaking eye contact as he holds out a cue stick, one eyebrow cocked.

Their hands brush when Qrow takes the stick and Clover’s smile turns a little wild, his gaze a little heated. Qrow’s throat clicks when he swallows.

“Go ahead, lucky charm,” Qrow says, his voice now more gravel than timbre, swiping his tongue at his bottom lip, “You get opening break.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okaayy, fair game has me in a death grip. I enjoyed it the 3rd episode but once that card scene happened in the 5th, I was SOLD. Clover’s flirting is pretty much canon at this point.
> 
> So, I had a lot of plans with this and I wanted it to go further, but I think that I liked that I ended it here. I feel their relationship is too in the early stages to start anything and since they are adults, they’re too cautious to just jump into anything. I was gonna write more with a confession, but it felt more in character to keep it open ended.
> 
> I wanted to have Clover ask why Qrow was there, eventually revealing that he knows that Qrow struggles with alcoholism and that he would be there for him if he ever needed it, but again I felt that was way too much for the start of their relationship. Would’ve been odd if Clover cared that much already (and Clover already cares a lot in canon).
> 
> Anyway, fair game has too little fics and I hope I added a good contribution to the tag. Enough of my rambling lol
> 
> P.S. PLEASE leave a comment, whether it's good or bad as I really appreciate any types of feedback!


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